


The Invincible Young Master Dong

by hoshatree (marchmain)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Friendship, Gen, Gymnastics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 13:09:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10854663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marchmain/pseuds/hoshatree
Summary: Johnny is (almost) one of the cool kids. Dong Si Cheng is the only boy in the rhythmic gymnastics team, the very opposite of cool.





	The Invincible Young Master Dong

**Author's Note:**

> The school bullies in this fic are all made up.

The school swimming carnival heat was over. Johnny pulled off his goggles, gasping for air, and he had to brush the water out of his eyes a few times before he could see the results. In a blur the scoreboard emerged. Was that a personal best? He'd swum 2 seconds faster than his previous best for the 50m freestyle. Feeling elated, he pulled himself out of the water.

Jennie came down from the bleachers to talk to him. He was still shaking a bit when she finally caught up with him, and he was happy to think she had been watching him. But she laughed. "Bad luck Johnny."

"Huh? I made my personal best."

"But you came sixth place. Look." Johnny turned back to the scoreboard. He had missed the number 6 next to his name. That meant he was out of the finals. Johnny cursed under his breath, but then tried to smile again when the winners walked past him

"Don't feel too bad about it," Jennie said. "I thought you looked pretty good." She laughed again.

Johnny was embarrassed so he looked around for his towel. The adrenaline he had felt after the race had left him, and now disappointment was crushing his chest. He'd been training for this carnival for months, and now that he hadn't even made it past the heat meant he no chance in getting into any of the big competitions. It wasn't fair. Even when he took one step forward someone else seemed to take five.

"Are you staying for the final?" Jennie asked him.

"Uh, I dunno." Johnny knew he probably should. His friends from the school swim team were going to be in it, and he owed it to them to watch the race. But he didn't feel like it now. "What are you going to do?"

"Me? I told Max I'd hang out."

"Oh, right."

"He told me he was going to watch the gymnastics in the big gym. I think he just wants to check out all the girls in leotards." She rolled her eyes, but her smile seemed to be saying, _oh typical Max._ "Anyway, gymnastics sounds lame, but do you want to come?"

"Yeah, sure. I can hang out."

/ / /

Johnny got changed and met up with Jennie and Max in the big gym. Max greeted Johnny with a high five. "Dude, check out this gay shit." Johnny looked over to where Max was pointing, a bunch of girls with ribbons and hoops, getting ready for rhythmic gymnastics.

"What's gay about it?"

"Watch - this guy. Wait for it, wait for it. Ha - look at him!"

Johnny sat down beside Jennie, who was looking at her phone with boredom. Max cackled like a maniac as a tall, thin Asian boy came out wearing tights and carrying a ball.

"This is a girl's sport. There is literally only one guy so he's competing with him."

Johnny watched the spectacle with some curiosity. "Does he go to our school? What's his name?"

"I have no idea."

As the boy took his place at the edge of the mat, the announcer called his name as "Dong."

"Whoa, go Dong!" Max hollered and the boy looked over at him with a confused face. He jerked his chin slightly, and then got back into his starting position. The music started and both Johnny and Max watched him attentively. He tossed the ball into the air and was about to do a somersault, but he lost his balance and fell face first into the mat, the ball coming down on his head.

Max laughed loudly. "Jennie, you should be watching this. This is comedy gold."

Jennie looked up briefly. "Oh my god Max," she said in a monotone, "don't laugh at him. You are _so_ mean."

Johnny was still watching the gymnast. The sight was almost physically painful to him. "If I was him I would die right now."

"He's picked the ball up again. Ha, he's gonna do it again!"

As painful as it was to look at, Johnny could not turn away. Dong got back on his feet and then repeated the same steps as before, but this time he did it perfectly. He somersaulted and collected the ball on his neck, as elegant as a swan. The rest of his routine was equally mesmerizing and he didn't make any more mistakes.

"I'm hungry," Max announced with a yawn. "Johnny, did you finish all your events today?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"Let's go eat."

"Just wait, I wanna watch the rest of it."

Apparently since Dong was no longer making a fool of himself, Max had lost interest. "Okay. Whatever dude."

Dong was awarded a high score from the judges that put him top of the table. "Crap, I think he actually won," Johnny said, but Max and Jennie were no longer listening.

When Dong went to receive the first place ribbon, he turned and looked directly where Johnny and Max were sitting. He met Johnny's eyes, since Johnny was the only one still looking, and then thrust his chin. Johnny could tell that he had heard them laughing.

/ / /

When Johnny got home he tried to get out of telling his mom about the carnival. He didn't want to explain how he had lost the race after he had been practicing for months. He also didn't want to tell her that he had been hanging out with Max and Jennie, since he knew that she didn't like them. She always talked about how they were bringing him down. That Max was definitely a troublemaker. Even Jennie, who was Korean too, had a bad-girl look to her.

Johnny kept his mouth shut about it, but every time she brought it up, he rolled his eyes. How was his mom supposed to know that they were the popular kids? He wondered if she would prefer him to have no friends at all.

/ / /

A week later Johnny saw Dong the gymnast again. He was sitting by himself in the school cafeteria, drinking from a carton of flavored milk. He turned the carton upside-down and sucked noisily on the little straw to get the last of the milk. So concerned with this, he didn't notice that Johnny had sat down across from him.

"Hey," Johnny said and the kid just stared at him. "You're Dong, aren't you? I'm Johnny."

The kid rattled the milk carton to satisfy himself that it was finally empty. He then looked up at Johnny with half open eyes.

"My name is Si Cheng," he said. "Dong is my last name."

"Ah, sorry."

"Dong is easier for people to say. No Americans can pronounce my real name."

"Si Cheng," Johnny repeated for clarification, and he shrugged.

"Close enough."

"Hey, I just saw you and I wanted to say: I saw that gymnastics routine you did at the school carnival. You made a great comeback."

"Huh? Oh yeah... gymnastics, it's alright. I thought I'd try it because it's hard. But since I already won... I'll stop doing it."

"Really? You mean, give up?"

"Give up? No..." Si Cheng gave a little laugh. His teeth had slight overbite, which made his top lip hang slightly over the bottom. It gave him an affable and childish look. "It's not giving up if I already won."

"Yeah, I guess."

"I have to find a new sport. I don't know what."

"I'm a swimmer," Johnny told him. He didn't really want to talk about swimming, but he needed a way to make normal conversation.

"Oh, swimming..." Si Cheng spoke slowly and drew out his words. "I like swimming. But I stopped racing because it was too easy."

"Too easy?"

"Yeh. I won many medals, back in China. I was in a big competition. After I won that, I thought: there's no point me swimming anymore, so I stopped."

Johnny looked around the cafeteria. None of his friends were around, and he was glad, since he didn't really want to be caught talking to Si Cheng. He had only wanted to congratulate him on the gymnastics because he felt bad for laughing at him. But this talk of swimming had made him curious.

"You must be good, huh?"

"Yeh."

"We should have a race. I go to the pools on Thursday nights."

Si Cheng blinked. "I would probably beat you."

Johnny couldn't help but laugh at his careless arrogance. "How the hell do you know that? Let's race first, then you can brag about it. Here, you better give me your number." Johnny quickly exchanged phones with him. "I'll see you at the pool on Thursday."

/ / /

Johnny waited in the lobby of the aquatic center on Thursday after school. Before the carnival he went to the pool for training on most weeknights, but he hadn't been swimming since. He had pretended to go a few times because he didn't want his mom to think he'd given up, but this time he had come with the hope of seeing Si Cheng. Being challenged by him gave him a new burst of motivation, and after his performance in the gymnastics, maybe he really was as good as he said he was. At the very least, Johnny was curious.

It was getting late and Si Cheng had not arrived. Earlier in the week he had added Johnny on messenger. His display name was "Young Master Dong." Johnny rolled his eyes and sent him a message.

"Hey, are you still coming to the pool?"

"I have homework... sorry..."

"Ok. Have fun."

Johnny sighed and put his phone away. He heard it buzz a minute later and he saw a new message from Si Cheng.

"Homework is suck!!!"

"Your English is suck :P"

"I know!!!! It's really bad!!!"

Johnny paused for a moment, then typed: "Come to the pool. I can help you with your homework."

/ / /

Johnny was still sitting in the aquatic center common room when Si Cheng came. As soon as he arrived, he pulled his books out of his backpack and dropped them on the table in front of Johnny. Johnny carefully flicked through the books while Si Cheng sat watching him, chewing on a pen.

Johnny quickly confirmed that Si Cheng was a freshman, and he was taking the most basic English course. He subsequently discovered that Si Cheng was 15, two years younger than himself, and it was his first year in the US. He lived in a dormitory with other international students. His parents had sent him here to improve his English, and so he refused to speak Chinese with the other Chinese students, even though it was easier. Still, he did not appear to have the same flair for study as he did for gymnastics; his assignment was littered with errors. As Johnny marked them with a pen Si Cheng leaned his head forward, like a curious puppy in search of food scraps.

"Wow," he said. "My English is really suck."

"No, your English _really sucks_." He then chuckled to show he wasn't being mean. "Don't worry. You'll get better in time."

Si Cheng shook his head solemnly. "I don't have any American friends."

Helping with the assignment took longer than expected. By the time they were finished it was already after 9, and Johnny knew that his mom would be angry if he stayed out any later. With a pang of annoyance he realized that Si Cheng had tricked him out of the race.

"Let's meet again same time tomorrow," Johnny told him. "And next time we'll actually go to the pool."

Si Cheng nodded and walked off with his bag.

/ / /

They didn't go to the pool the next night either. Johnny met Si Cheng in the park outside the aquatic center, but instead of going inside, Si Cheng started walking in the other direction.

"Where are you going?"

"To the arcade."

"Why?"

"I want to play games."

"You don't want to race?"

"Race would be boring. You can play me at games instead."

Johnny laughed. This was practically an admission that Si Cheng had been lying: he wasn't really a fast swimmer at all.

He was, however, pretty good at arcade games. He beat Johnny three times in a row in Street Fighter. But he did not boast, or even celebrate his wins. After the third time he won he looked around the dark arcade with half lidded eyes and said, "This game is too boring. We have the same in China, but this one is easier."

"You like DDR?"

"Yeah, but that's easy too."

He got up and began wandering around in search of a "challenging" game. Johnny lost sight of him. As he got up to look for him, he saw Max and one of the other boys from school coming in from the mall entrance. Without thinking, Johnny stepped backwards, so he was hidden behind a machine. He quickly thought of how he might try to act natural if Max did spot him. He was embarrassed to be seen hanging out with a freshman, the _lame gymnast Dong_ of all people. He couldn't risk having Si Cheng reappear and start talking to him, so he carefully edged his way back towards the shopping mall.

To his surprise, Si Cheng was already outside.

"I thought all the games were boring," he said. "Too easy. We play them harder in China."

He then walked off without saying goodbye.

/ / /

Johnny now noticed Si Cheng was he saw him at school. In the cafeteria he always sat alone. During breaks he would walk around the circumference of the campus, his eyes downcast, muttering private thoughts. Johnny's eyes sometimes followed him, but not for long. It would be weird to stare.

/ / /

The next time he met Si Cheng, he was walking home through the mall. He saw Si Cheng lingering alone out the front of the arcade, and since he was also by himself, Johnny stopped to talk to him.

"Going to the arcade?" he said jokingly. "I thought all the games were too easy for you?"

Si Cheng shook his head. "I wasn't going to. I want to go to the ice cream shop. You should buy for me."

Johnny laughed. "What? Why?"

"Because I beat you at games."

"Well, I helped you with your homework. Really, you should be the one buying ice cream for me."

Si Cheng nodded seriously and took out his wallet. "OK, I will. Let's go."

Johnny couldn't believe he'd just talked himself into an ice cream date. As they walked to the food court, he wondered if Si Cheng had done this on purpose. It seemed almost as though Si Cheng had been waiting for him. And maybe he had avoided racing Johnny, not because he was afraid he would lose, but because he wanted to keep an excuse for Johnny to hang out with him.

Si Cheng took a long time to choose an ice cream flavor. The girl behind the counter waited with a bored face as he carefully considered each one, and when at last he made a decision he tapped on the glass without saying anything. Johnny paid for it. "It's fair, because I'm older," he said, but it was also because he felt guilty that Si Cheng was so keen to hang out.

They sat at the food court bench. The people around them might have mistaken them for being brothers, or cousins.

"So what's with _Young Master Dong?_ " Johnny asked playfully, trying to start some conversation.

Si Cheng shrugged. "It's just what my friends call me."

"Your friends back in China?" Johnny said thoughtlessly. He was now hyper-aware of the fact Si Cheng had no friends at school.

"Yeah, I think."

"So are you really a good swimmer?"

"Yeah. I was pretty good, but I didn't swim for a while. Are you a good swimmer?"

Johnny watched Si Cheng hunch forward to lick the ice cream running down the side of the cone. This, paired with his childish overbite, made Johnny feel something of a brotherly affection for Si Cheng.

He said, "To be honest, not really. I keep losing all the time. Even at the carnival, I made my personal best, but I didn't win. I didn't even make the final."

"But you beat yourself. That means you're getting better."

"But everyone else got better too."

Si Cheng shrugged. "Whenever there's a race someone always has to come second, fifth, last. You know. It has to be someone." He scrunched the napkin in his fist after wiping his face. "Coming first all the time is boring too."

"Yeah, but I wish I could come first... just once. Or even come second or third. So I could get a medal."

"You can get better, but you have to train really hard. Maybe you don't have good stroke."

"So will you swim against me then? Look, I know you're going to win and I'm going to lose, but hey, if you're really great at swimming maybe you could give me some advice."

"I suppose... I can see your stroke. Then I will know if you are good."

"So you will actually go the pool with me this time?"

Si Cheng nodded. "I will meet you there tomorrow night after school."

/ / /

Johnny came to the pool straight after school the next day. He got changed and sat on the edge of the lap pool, watching as two other swimmers were going up and down in the slow lanes. It was early and not many people had filled up the center yet.

He wondered if he should just warm up with a few laps before Si Cheng came, but before he got into the pool he heard someone call his name.

It was Max. He had come with two other guys, one of whom was Eric from the swim team. Johnny nodded to them in acknowledgement and high-fived Max as he came over.

"Here you are, haven't seen you around in ages."

"Um, I saw you in class like an hour ago."

"No, I meant outside of school. What you been doing? Swimming? I thought you said you were going to quit swimming since you kept losing all the time."

Johnny laughed to cover up his embarrassment. He didn't want Max saying that in front of Eric, who was a much faster swimmer.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Johnny asked him.

"Just hanging out." He waved at Jennie, who was coming over with one of her girlfriends. When she saw Max, she turned and whispered something to her friend. They both laughed.

Johnny was starting to get frustrated. He liked hanging out with Max - and he liked the fact that Max wanted to hang out with him, since it meant he too was now one of the popular kids - but he couldn't stop thinking about Si Cheng and what time he might be coming over. He hadn't said exactly, just "after school." It could be anytime. He might not even come at all.

It looked as though Max and his friends had settled themselves on the bleachers, and Jennie and her friend had joined them. They beckoned to Johnny, so he came too.

But just as he sat down Johnny saw him. Si Cheng was coming over. He was still in his school clothes and he had his backpack on. Johnny's throat got dry as he came closer. Max noticed him too.

He looked puzzled at first, but then he laughed as recognition dawned on him. "Oh, it's Dong! The _invincible Dong!_ "

"Who?" one of the guys asked.

"Some freshman who does gymnastics. I've heard that he's retarded."

"Oh, he's creepy," Jennie's friend whispered. "He's always talking to himself."

As Si Cheng came closer, Max stood up to face him. "Hey Dong, where's your leotard?"

"Eh?" Si Cheng's face was blank. "I came to meet my friend."

"Your imaginary friend?"

"No..."

Si Cheng looked at Johnny, but Johnny could not look him in the eye. He looked abstractly into the distance and in his mind he desperately wished for Si Cheng to turn and go away. But Si Cheng did not seem to want to leave. He dropped his back pack with one arm, in an act of defiance against Max. Max saw the opportunity and grabbed the back pack, quickly throwing it to Eric. Eric threw it back to him, and Max held it above his head, as if threatening to throw it into the pool.

"Give it, give it!" Si Cheng yelled, and there were tears of frustration in his eyes. Max laughed while Jennie rolled her eyes, but did not say anything.

At last Johnny jumped to his feet. "Geez, leave him alone Max, he's just a kid."

Everyone stopped to look at him. Everyone except for Si Cheng who took the opportunity to grab his bag. He turned and stormed out of the aquatic center without looking back.

"Yeah Max, that was kinda mean," Jennie said in her usual monotone, but Johnny didn't hear anything else that was said.

 _Just a kid..._ Why had he said it like that? Because he was too embarrassed to say that he had invited Si Cheng to swim with him. The gravity of the situation pulled at him slowly. He had betrayed Si Cheng and now he could never take it back.

/ / /

In the following days Johnny did not see Si Cheng in his usual spot in the cafeteria, or even walking around the campus. He found out a few weeks later that Si Cheng had started sitting with the other Chinese international students. He had unfriended Johnny on messenger, and at the end of the semester he went back to China and Johnny didn't hear from him again.

/ / /

Johnny's focus now turned to college applications. He spent his last year at high school studying more seriously than he had done in the previous years, and he didn't see his friends as often. He made some new friends, and by the time he started college the next year he barely saw Max or Jennie at all.

/ / /

In his third year of university Johnny took a semester at Yonsei University in Korea. It was an opportunity for him to improve his mother tongue and catch up with a bunch of cousins he had never met before. He enjoyed the course, and made some friends, so he enrolled for another course in the summer.

The summer course was more fun than hard work, and Johnny spent many sunny days in the parks of the university campus, and hanging around the student neighborhoods. On a warm day in June, Jaehyun, a local student and Johnny's friend, came to find him in the library. Johnny had his eyes closed as he held himself over an open text book and Jaehyun shook his shoulder.

"There's a dance competition in Hongdae this afternoon. I'm about to go there now, you should come."

"A dance competition?" Johnny agreed that it sounded more interesting than reading about Korean grammar.

As they headed over to Hongdae, Jaehyun told him excitedly: "There's a guy who's been dominating the competition since yesterday. No one can beat him. He's crazy; he keeps doing weird back flips. He's a foreigner too. Must be another international student but I don't know what school he goes to."

"Where's he from?"

"China, I think. His name is Dong something."

Johnny's heart beat erratically in his chest, and his excitement grew feverish as they reached the crowd that had formed on the street. Johnny and Jaehyun edged their way through the people until they were at a place where they could see. The tall and lean dancer in the center spun on his toes and flung himself backwards as the crowd clapped and cheered.

Although the odds were infinitesimal, Johnny had imagined this scene so many times that he didn't even feel surprised. Would Si Cheng remember him? Would he forgive him?

When the performance was over, Johnny clapped loudly with his hands above his head. Si Cheng looked around the crowd, and then his eyes settled on Johnny. He stared for a second, and then with a satisfied air, he lifted his chin.


End file.
